US President Donald Trump looks on during a ceremony before delivering a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting on January 26, 2018 in Davos, eastern Switzerland.
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

According to the New York Times, President Trump ordered special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to be fired last June, but backed off after threats of resignation from the White House counsel.

The Times reports that Trump pointed to three conflicts of interest in Mueller’s appointment to oversee the Russia investigation, including an allegation of disputed membership fees with Trump National Golf Club in Northern Virginia, where Mueller resigned as a member in 2011. He was the F.B.I. director then.

Trump also claimed that Mueller could not be impartial after working for the law firm that formerly represented his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II refused to ask the Justice Department for Mueller’s dismissal and said that firing him “would have a catastrophic effect on Mr. Trump’s presidency.”

Do these revelations call for an obstruction of justice? And what does this mean for the impact of the investigation? We get the latest timeline from a reporter.

Guest:

Tom Lobianco, White House reporter for the Associated Press who has been following the story; he tweets @tomlobianco